Donald J. Bentley
- 37
- reviews
- 3
- helpful votes
- 92
- ratings
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Bust Hell Wide Open
- The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest
- By: Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The legacy of General Nathan Bedford Forrest is deeply divisive. Best known for being accused of war crimes at the Battle of Fort Pillow and for his role as first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan - an organization he later denounced - Forrest has often been studied as a military figure, but never before studied as a fascinating individual who wrestled with the complex issues of his violent times. Bust Hell Wide Open is a comprehensive portrait of Nathan Bedford Forrest as a man: his achievements, failings, reflections, and regrets.
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This is a superb and concise biography
- By Damian on 03-30-17
- Bust Hell Wide Open
- The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest
- By: Samuel W. Mitcham Jr.
- Narrated by: Dan John Miller
Promotion piece for Nathan Bedford Forrest
Reviewed: 12-18-24
This book would have one believe that Nathan Bedford Forrest could do no wrong. It seems like some of the anecdotes were based more on legend than fact.
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A Night to Remember
- By: Walter Lord
- Narrated by: Fred Williams
- Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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The "unsinkable” Titanic was four city blocks long, with a French “sidewalk café,” private promenade decks, and the latest, most ingenious safety devices… but only twenty lifeboats for the 2,207 passengers and crew on board.
Gliding through a calm sea, disdainful of all obstacles, the Titanic brushed an iceberg. Two hours and forty minutes later, she upended and sank. Only 705 survivors were picked up from the half-filled boats of “the ship that God Himself couldn’t sink.”
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Riveting story
- By Tad Davis on 12-31-11
- A Night to Remember
- By: Walter Lord
- Narrated by: Fred Williams
Fascinating and terrifying
Reviewed: 12-02-24
The narrative was suspenseful even though the overall story of the Titanic is widely known. The perspectives of the individuals involved were fascinating.
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Generals and Geniuses: A History of the Manhattan Project
- By: Edward G. Lengel, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Edward G. Lengel
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
- Original Recording
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In 10 riveting episodes that feel like a fast-paced thriller, acclaimed World War II historian Edward G. Lengel’s Generals and Geniuses: A History of the Manhattan Project brings the origin of the atomic bomb - and the scientific minds behind it - to vivid life. Did the Manhattan Project, and the remarkable weapon it produced, save millions of lives at the expense of the tens of thousands who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? And was there any way to prevent this technology from unleashing the horrors that still hang over us today?
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Excellent lecture
- By AmazonTop on 09-28-20
Concise history of the Manhattan Project
Reviewed: 11-30-24
This audiobook describes the history of the Manhattan Project from concept to postwar. It also includes early nuclear experiments. It is clear and understandable.
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Terror of the Autumn Skies
- The True Story of Frank Luke, America's Rogue Ace of World War I
- By: Blaine Pardoe
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Frank Luke, Jr., was an unlikely pilot. In the Great War, when fliers were still "knights of the air", Luke was an ungallant loner, a kid from Arizona who collected tarantulas, shot buzzards, and boxed miners. But during two torrid weeks in September 1918, he was the deadliest man on the Western Front. In only 10 missions, he destroyed 14 heavily defended German balloons and four airplanes, a rampage unequalled even by the dreaded von Richtofen, and the second highest American tally of the entire war.
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Terror of the Autumn skies
- By K. Nelson on 11-25-19
- Terror of the Autumn Skies
- The True Story of Frank Luke, America's Rogue Ace of World War I
- By: Blaine Pardoe
- Narrated by: John McLain
Details of the life of a World War I aviator
Reviewed: 11-28-24
This book gives details of Frank Luke’s early life, his training, and his actions in France. It gives interesting details of combat tactics, such as destroying observation balloons. The author describes the sources he used, which shows that he was trying to be as truthful as possible. Some things seemed a bit romanticized, such as conjectures about what Luke thought and said.
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Empire of Pain
- The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
- By: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The prize-winning and best-selling author of Say Nothing presents a grand, devastating portrait of three generations of the Sackler family, famed for their philanthropy, whose fortune was built by Valium and whose reputation was destroyed by OxyContin. Empire of Pain is a masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, exhaustively documented and ferociously compelling.
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Full Account of the Sackler Conspiracy
- By Edward Bisch on 04-13-21
- Empire of Pain
- The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
- By: Patrick Radden Keefe
- Narrated by: Patrick Radden Keefe
Fascinating story of the Sackler family and the pharmaceutical industry
Reviewed: 11-18-24
I liked the detailed history of the Sackler family, which tried to stay private. The information on the workings of the pharmaceutical industry and its relationship with the FDA was very interesting.
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The Mosquito
- A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
- By: Timothy C. Winegard
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito’s reign through human history.
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Major Disappointment
- By Amazon Customer on 09-02-19
- The Mosquito
- A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
- By: Timothy C. Winegard
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
A lot of history with mosquitoes causing illness and death throughout
Reviewed: 11-10-24
Much of the book was a survey of world history with mosquitoes named as the cause of many illnesses and deaths. I did not find that part of the book very interesting. I liked the later part of the book that discussed the research on how to eradicate mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases.
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Unsung Eagles
- True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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The nearly half-million American air crewmen who served during World War II have almost disappeared. And so have their stories. Award-winning writer and former fighter pilot Jay A. Stout uses Unsung Eagles to save an exciting collection of those accounts from oblivion. These are not rehashed tales from the hoary icons of the war. Rather, they are stories from the masses of largely unrecognized men who - in the aggregate - actually won it.
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A great look into what so many gave for & to us.
- By Duane on 08-02-21
- Unsung Eagles
- True Stories of America’s Citizen Airmen in the Skies of World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
Perspectives from citizen airmen in World War II
Reviewed: 10-27-24
The stories were very interesting because they included stories of the airmen’s early lives before the war. There was good variety because the airmen served in various theaters and had various roles.
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Last Stand at Khe Sanh
- The US Marines’ Finest Hour in Vietnam
- By: Gregg Jones
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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The vivid, fast-paced account of the siege of Khe Sanh told through the eyes of the men who lived it. For seventy-seven days in 1968, amid fears that America faced its own disastrous Dien Bien Phu, six thousand US Marines held off thirty thousand North Vietnamese Army regulars at the remote mountain stronghold called Khe Sanh. It was the biggest battle of the Vietnam War, with sharp ground engagements, devastating artillery duels, and massive US air strikes.
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Great Book
- By Ronald F. Romancik on 04-26-14
- Last Stand at Khe Sanh
- The US Marines’ Finest Hour in Vietnam
- By: Gregg Jones
- Narrated by: William Hughes
Harrowing stories of combat
Reviewed: 10-24-24
This book contains many individual firsthand accounts of ferocious combat. These accounts increase my respect for the bravery and determination of these soldiers who were performing their assigned duties to the best of their abilities.
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The Somme
- The Darkest Hour on the Western Front
- By: Peter Hart
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 20 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Somme: these words conjure the image of war rigidly fought by traditional means even when catastrophe clearly loomed. Relying on personal testimonies never before published, this study of those who survived the first day of battle (July 1, 1916) captures this epic conflagration from all angles. Follow the action as soldiers crawl across No Man’s Land in the face of German guns, struggle with the conditions in the trenches, and survey the scene from the air as the RFC tries to control the skies above the battlefield.
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Harrowing Story Badly Produced
- By Bob on 02-15-14
- The Somme
- The Darkest Hour on the Western Front
- By: Peter Hart
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
Individual accounts of battle
Reviewed: 10-18-24
The book contains firsthand accounts of soldiers’ experiences and thoughts. These accounts clearly show the horrors of war. These accounts show the human impacts of the battle more than accounts that describe overall strategies and movements of armies. Some listeners might find the citations of the authors of the quotes and their outfits annoying. However, the citations emphasize that the war affected individuals.
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The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution: 1763-1789
- By: Robert Middlekauff
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically-acclaimed volume - a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize - offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
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Strong History Rich With Behind The Scenes Details
- By John on 10-06-11
Detailed and thorough
Reviewed: 10-09-24
This book contains a very detailed and thorough review of the revolutionary war period. It discusses the periods before and after the war as well as the war, and presents the points of view of both sides.
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